Published: 21 April 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
By GIDON BROMBERG, YANA ABU TALEB and NADA MAJDALANI
“CUTTING OFF THE NOSE to spite the face” is an apt expression to describe the lack of rationale behind Israeli government policies calling for unilateral annexation of areas of the West Bank, and in particular the Jordan Valley. At a time when cross-border cooperation is more essential than ever to promote public health, this populist call threatens regional and national security interests.
Eco-Peace Middle East prepared the first regional integrated master plan for the Jordan Valley in 2015. The document highlights the essential nature of the Jordan Valley for Palestinian prosperity. For the Palestinians, the Jordan Valley is comparable to what Ben Gurion saw in the Negev for a pre-state Israel.
The valley is at present the breadbasket for Palestinian food security and has the potential for a large-scale food export economy. Access to water and the potential for tourism along a rehabilitated Jordan River and Dead Sea are essential to the development of a successful Palestinian economy.
The World Bank has estimated that the Jordan Valley alone could increase Palestinian GDP by a massive 23 percent. Therefore, the Jordan Valley for Palestine is the difference between a potentially prosperous neighbour or a failed state.
FULL STORY COVID-19 shows how reckless Jordan Valley annexation would be (Times of Israel)
Photo: Palestinian shepherd herds his flock of sheep at an area designated as military zone in a town north of the Jordan Valley, on February 19 (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)
